Tuesday, June 20, 2006

The other side of darkness

Ok, so we know that stuff kills. Gone are the days when you can talk about having smoked pot, popped and snorted LOTS of pills, speed, E, took some acid, shrooms, alcohol ...

So you think drugs are bad? But that is a sweeping generalization. There are recreational drugs and there are hard drugs. And of course, we also have prescription drugs. Taking any drug runs a risk of harm. Anything in excess is bad. But there are some drugs that no one should touch, like cocain, crack or heroin. Leaving these drugs apart, the world is filled with several recreational and prescription drugs which when taken in excess can leave you as a different person. Even some of the legal prescribed drugs can make you addictive and wasted. How do you know which one is more dangerous than the other?

So why are we talking about this? In this world, no amount of policing will ever stop the illegal drugs trade. It is just not possible. Worldwide, this is an industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars. No matter how many arrests are made, this trade can never be stopped. The amount of money involved is too tempting for anyone. All the gatekeepers (police, customs, politicians) get bribed; no one can stand in the way of that much money. The best we can do is redirect it to a least harmful route. Legitimize it. Bring it out in the open, regulate it, license it & tax it.

In my perfect world, a lot of things would be legal, including all drugs and prostitution.

I don't think it's been mentioned, though it might've been, but legalizing all drugs, including heroin, crack, coke, ice etc. has amazing health benefits for the addicts. Right now, someone's in a dark alley somewhere shooting heroin, with a point that's been used by four different people. Right now, a heroin addict is contracting HIV because of unsanitary conditions, not to mention pumping their veins with bathtub cleaner. People die from badly cut drugs and AIDS every day.

If all drugs were legal, and doctors were able to regulate each person's drug use and how pure the drug was, things would be a lot safer.

And the harder drugs aren't the only ones being cut with unsafe chemicals. Ask any weed smoker and they will tell you that it was mixed with something. I'm sure the majority of herb smokers know that you can even request weed sprinkled in coke, or others. God only knows where the coke and pills are coming from, and whether that's what's really on the weed. Even pot isn't safe anymore, especially with the younger buyers who get ripped off more easily.

Weed sold over the counter like cigarettes wouldn't have this issue.

To me, you can't stop people from wanting to alter their consciousness, that's just the way it is. Right now, drugs are illegal and as dangerous as they've ever been, for addicts and users of all ages. And if drugs were legal, I have a feeling the amount of people addicted to harder drugs would be lowered as well.

Legalizing drugs would also take care of the "naughty" factor, and I think less number of people would get into them, but that's not a proven fact or anything.

You won't ever get rid of drugs, so the governments around the world may as well embrace and tax the living hell out of them.